Place: Reviews & Ratings

The only saving grace for this store is the weekend help. The week day guy seems more interested in looking at his PC screen then actually helping a customer. I'm new to brewing so I ask a lot of questions. The weekend guys are always helpful while the week day guy seems agitated annoyed . Go to one of the other shops in the area if you can and avoid this place like the plague. (380 characters)

This is my local brew shop, as it is the closest to my house (10 miles vs. 22 miles to the other).

The first time I went here, I was completely unimpressed; dirty atmosphere, lack of service, etc. I felt like the clerk was uninterested in me and my brewing ambitions. And, frankly, I still feel like that at times. However, after continuing to shop here, the service has improved (for me) and I have noticed that the clerk is extreemly knowledgable, and can help you with anything. The more I visit, the better the greeting I recieve.

To date, they have had everything I needed except once (a certain yeast strand). If they don't have the yeast strain you need, he can easily point you to a similar strand or methods to acheive your goal. Sometimes, if you show him what you want, he can help make your recipe better. All you have to do is ask, as he won't go out of his way to help.

I suggest you bring your own bag for carrying malts. If you ask for a bag, you get a stereotypical grocery bag. However, the malts are all self serve, which is nice. If you don't ask for help, it's a nice learning process!

New brewers: do not be frightened, as there are many kits, and all you need to do is ask. Be sure to check for freshness, as some things are dated. At first you may feel that you are being talked down to, and their tone seems like that, but in the end, they are very straight forward and don't over elaborate.

If there was better service, I would go more often. Grain prices and availability are what bring me back. Specialty malts are always available, however they seem to run out of the standard base malts at times. Great place to go to when you realize on brew day: "I forgot to get..." (1,703 characters)

Stopped by here before heading into the pub. A pretty big store but on the older side, not particularly nice. On the far back wall they have a pretty big selection of grains, their own malting machine, and quite a few different yeasts. There was a decent amount of supplies, nothing special. The thing I didn't like was that there was lots of generic brewing kits, seemed more geared toward a new brewing crowd. Service was ok, asked once if I needed help but didn't seem particularly interested. A decent shop but I wouldn't come unless I was at the brewery and needed something quick. (586 characters)

This place is a well kept secret. I've never had access to as many grains before and all at a better price than anywhere else. This place is set up to supply serious brewers, but the guy behind the counter ain't much of a talker. However, if you just ask some questions, you'll get answers, without too much opinion. He knows his stuff and isn't out to prove anything like some beer snobs. The guy has helped me out with some technical questions on several occasions. If nobody else likes the place, all the better for me because I hate getting in line behind people that have less concern for the craft than the kind of "customer service experience" they feel entitled to. (673 characters)

Ok I know there are some negative posts on here but lets clear the air. This place offers THE BEST prices in town as well as the Internet. You cannot beat their grain prices period. A lot of times they do run out of stuff, but that is because they sell out quick. A lot of times, if they were out of something I needed, the guy behind the counter would tell me what I could use in place of that ingredient. Everytime this has happeneed, my beer turned out better. I like how I can walk in, get what I want and leave without being hounded as soon as I walk through the door. The guy behind the counter is also very knowledgable. Its obvious when you see all of the awards for his beers and meads on the wall. If you have a question about beer, all you have to do is ask. Unless you ask something stupid like "how do I make beer that tastes like Bud Light" he'll be more than happy to help you. Keep up the good work. (915 characters)

Exactly what the last guy said. I have never gone in this place and they had what I needed. Worst service ever. The guy that works there obviously hates his job, or people, or maybe just life in general. It is never organized or stocked and the place is extremely dirty. Not exactly what you are looking for when you go into a store, especially a home brew store. The brewery is only run slightly better. If there beer wasn't so damn good I would never go in there. Too bad there is not a reputable place near the Royal Oak area. (529 characters)

This place might be cheap, but frankly that's about all it has going for it. I've been in here a few times, and on each occasion I've found the customer service to be nothing short of appalling, with a healthy dose of chauvinism thrown in. ("Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't want to trouble your pretty little head with all this tough, manly home-brewing business - why don't you go back to your apple-berry-tinis and leave the beer to us manly men?") Supplies are frequently out of stock, with no reasonable re-order time frames. ("Well, we might get some more 12oz bottles in the week after next, but I really don't know when that'll be.") What little they actually stock might be scattered anywhere within the store, and both store and stock are absolutely filthy. (For such accomplished brewers, don't these people know the value of clean and sterile equipment?)

I absolutely cannot recommend this place to a novice homebrewer, and I'd think long and hard before recommending it to an expert. Two thumbs down. (1,007 characters)

Echoing further sentiments about customer service. I have perused the store twice and was treated like I was bothering the dude behind the counter. I asked about a couple things and it was as if it pained him to look up from his magazine to even acknowledge me, let alone deal with answering a petty question.

I walked around the unkempt, dusty stock which had no rhyme or reason, and finally purchased a book after finding nothing else of substance. Godforbid the dude try to actually make a sale, I would've probably walked out with over a hundred dollars worth of brewing equipment.

You can't run a business with your lazy-ass friends as clerks, guys. (658 characters)

Update: Went back for the first time in years. Staff were very polite and helpful, but when I got home the yeast they sold me was six weeks out of date. I know it is my fault for not looking, but buyer beware at this place

I walked in to be ignored by the clerk who was on his cell phone, I tried to get his attention but to no avail. I walked around looking for a kit I saw advertised on their website earlier in the day. When I was finally able to ask for help I was told in a put off manner that the kit I saw on the website that afternoon had not been carried for over a year.

After a quick look at dusty stock on the shelves, and picking my way around the larger items laid haphazardly around the store it was time to leave. Much like the brewery this is a barebones operation, with no frills. Beer Geek hype run amuck. (827 characters)

This is my local homebrew shop or LHBS, and I think they do a pretty good job. Selection of grains is great. They have a very good variety. Lots of liquid malts to choose from as well. Again, good selection of yeast and hops in the fridge. I suppose that since it is also a working brewery the place can be a little messy at times, but when I was last in there (5/10/07) it was as neat as can be expected for the space. Staff is helpful when you ask a question. Just don't expect them to smother you. I kinda enjoy being able to go in and help my self to the grains without having to check with someone or have someone standing over my shoulder. So, if you are a newbie, you got to go up and ask if you have questions. Good selection of other peripherals. They've almost always had what I've wanted or a close equivalent. Prices are equal or lower to what I have seen around. (875 characters)

When we parked at Kuhnhenn's and the gang was getting everything kind of wrapped up in the car I decided to walk into the home brew shop before going for beer next door. Very nice size place. The malt grains and hops and such they had available seemed like an awful lot. I guess there must be enough market in the area to keep all this fresh. Man-o-day! They had everything I'd expect but the exact model of capper I want. I'm glad they didn't because we had NO space to pack it in. The guy behind the counter seemed knowledgeable but not terribly out going. That's OK I suppose. If you are in this area and in the market for any homebrew supplies definitely stop in. It will be worth the visit.

Decided to stop in and check out the store. My intention as a beginner home brewer was to buy all the supplies needed to make my first batch of beer. At first it seemed sort of difficult to find what I needed since the place looks a little messy, but after looking around and some help from the employee everything seemed in the right place and organized just right.

I ended up purchasing every piece of equipment that I needed. The employee was helpful in letting me know exactly what I needed and even recommended a few things.

Although I purchased a kit with all the ingredients, which there is a good selection of, there is a good variety of hops and grains to choose from. They also keep their yeast in a fridge to maintain its quality.

I would recommend this store to anyone in the area and I plan on shopping there again in the future. (851 characters)

I decided to stop in here after a few beers at the brewpub next door. Wow. Amazing selection. This is a homebrewer's heaven on earth. Upon walking in, it may look unorganized or cluttered, but upon close inspection, everything is is proper order; all the homebrewing equipment is logically in order, with something for the first timers all the way up to experienced. There is also a decent selection of home wine making supplies as well. The grains and malts were well stocked. I'm not a home-brewer, but i'm sure anyone who would walk in would near cry at the amazing selection. Something I did see was actual leaf hops instead of pellets, which I'd not previously seen for sale in the area. The service was good, and the guy I talked with recommend I try their BOP before I get into investing in a home-brew set up. Good call. I'm hoping to have the opportunity sometime this summer. This is a worthy stop. Go out of your way if you need to. This place likely has everything and more that you will need. (1,005 characters)

On my first visit to Kuhnhenn, I planned to visit the homebrew shop next door. Little did we know that it was actually attached to the brewery, or that they closed at 4pm on Saturday. It was 4:05, so we were out of luck. However, looking through the window at all the equipment and ingredients made it evident that we would have to come back soon, and this time during business hours. Well, we weren't disappointed. This place has everything that you will need, plus a little bit more. The grain selection is amazing, with bin after bin of specialty grains. There were plenty that we hadn't run into before, plus things that we'd been looking for (like malted rye). And the prices were great at $1/lb for anything. The hop selection was also great, with many varieties available in leaf and pellet form, some packaged in pound bags. Great prices here too. The yeast selection was quite good as well, with racks full of White Labs and Wyeast products, as well as a lot of dry yeasts. Again, these were the best prices we've found for liquid yeast. There was a decent library and a lot of equipment, but we didn't really explore that too much. The man at the counter was quite helpful and definitely knew his brewing. All in all, this is the best homebrew shop I've been to. If I didn't live so far away I'd be really interested in taking advantage of the BOP service as well. (1,374 characters)

Stopped in here one evening near the end of the year, 2004. This place, located on Mound Road just north of I-696, was easy to find. Ample parking was located in back and I was greeted as I entered. Several aisles contain a vast array of beer- and wine-making supplies, including refrigerators with hops you've never heard of and every kind of yeast imaginable. Good god, they even offered grains in bulk that I'd never heard of. All these items are organized to be easy to find and the two workers were happy to assist and incredibly knowledgable (uhmm, they brew the beer served next door). This is your one-stop-shop to get everything you need, plus the inside scoop on all the far-out ingredients you might add to your brew. Without a doubt, this is the best homebrew supply shop I've ever visited. (802 characters)